Remap image tones to a custom palette
A gradient map reads the brightness structure of an image and assigns specific colors based on tone. Unlike a simple tint, it allows you to define exactly what happens to the shadows, midtones, and highlights. This lets you quickly generate cinematic color grading, duotone alternatives, and stylized poster treatments.
This gradient map maker supports JPEG, PNG, and WebP formats. Using a client-side gradient map website ensures your files remain private while generating high-resolution results instantly.
Five-stop tonal control
Instead of mapping an image to just two colors, this gradient map filter uses a five-stop gradient for precise control over the tonal range. You define custom colors for the deepest shadows, dark midtones, true midtones, light midtones, and absolute highlights.
This multi-stop gradation map approach prevents muddy transitions and retains image structure. Gradient maps allow you to maintain cool depth in the shadows while pushing warm light into the highlights, or to create aggressive graphic separation for concept art and album covers.
Adjusting the gradient map effect
Before the gradient map is applied, you can shift the underlying tonal structure of the original image. Exposure shifts the input darker or lighter, changing which parts fall into each color stop. Contrast changes how tightly the tones are separated, moving the image from soft and muted to punchy and graphic.
Midtone bias shifts the tonal emphasis toward either the shadow side or the highlight side of the gradient. If the recoloring feels close but sits in the wrong part of the palette, adjusting this bias fixes the placement. Detail preservation helps maintain local texture and structural clarity, preventing the gradient map app from making the final result look too flat or waxy.